Why Obama Took the Road Less TraveledAs a Harvard Law graduate and a law review editor, Barack Obama could have had his pick of virtually any prestigious judicial clerkship. Moreover, moving from Ivy League law school to clerkship to biglaw firm was (and still is) a traditional career path that would virtually guarantee a successful legal career. And yet, as Tony Mauro writes in The Man That Got Away, Obama apparently never even pursued clerkship opportunities, spurning overtures from prominent judges like Abner Mikva of the D.C. Circuit, in favor of returning to Chicago to resume community and civil rights work. Seems as if Obama's gamble paid off...

Rudy Giuliani: From Prosecutor to President
This New York Times article reports on Giuliani's tenure as a United States attorney nearly 25 years ago. Giuliani's ascension was "fortuitous," according to the article; a recently completed FBI investigation provided grist for several high-level Mafia prosecutions, while investigators were delving into Wall Street corruption cases that became another staple of the U.S. Attorneys' office under Giuliani's lead. But the article quotes some as questioning Giuliani's judgment and ethics as a prosecutor.

Right now, however, Giuliani is finding some shelter in ethics rules. As Bloomberg reports, Giuliani has refused to release a full list of his law firm clients, citing confidentiality rules that prohibit him from revealing clients that he or his firm represents. In any event, Giuliani has apparently identified the majority of the clients with whom he worked at his current firm, Bracewell & Giuliani, was well as at a separate consulting firm.

Why Obama Took the Road Less TraveledAs a Harvard Law graduate and a law review editor, Barack Obama could have had his pick of virtually any prestigious judicial clerkship. Moreover, moving from Ivy League law school to clerkship to biglaw firm was (and still is) a traditional career path that would virtually guarantee a successful legal career. And yet, as Tony Mauro writes in The Man That Got Away, Obama apparently never even pursued clerkship opportunities, spurning overtures from prominent judges like Abner Mikva of the D.C. Circuit, in favor of returning to Chicago to resume community and civil rights work. Seems as if Obama's gamble paid off...

Rudy Giuliani: From Prosecutor to President
This New York Times article reports on Giuliani's tenure as a United States attorney nearly 25 years ago. Giuliani's ascension was "fortuitous," according to the article; a recently completed FBI investigation provided grist for several high-level Mafia prosecutions, while investigators were delving into Wall Street corruption cases that became another staple of the U.S. Attorneys' office under Giuliani's lead. But the article quotes some as questioning Giuliani's judgment and ethics as a prosecutor.

Right now, however, Giuliani is finding some shelter in ethics rules. As Bloomberg reports, Giuliani has refused to release a full list of his law firm clients, citing confidentiality rules that prohibit him from revealing clients that he or his firm represents. In any event, Giuliani has apparently identified the majority of the clients with whom he worked at his current firm, Bracewell & Giuliani, was well as at a separate consulting firm.